STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Staten Island Ferry crewman who was attacked when he tried to help a female passenger arguing with a man has been awarded $30,000.

Michael Minutillo suffered a neck and back sprain in the incident on May 29, 2009, a court attorney referee determined.

New Brighton resident Ramon Roman punched Minutillo in the face and kicked both his knees during a three-minute attack, court papers stated.

Minutillo, a New Jersey resident, had sued Roman in state Supreme Court, St. George, for unspecified monetary damages.

The incident occurred around 2 a.m.

According to police, Minutillo, now 55, told cops that Roman was arguing with a female passenger aboard the ferry. When the deckhand tried to intercede, Roman beat and kicked him, prosecutors said. Court papers do not identify the vessel.

Roman, now 32, was charged with misdemeanor counts of assault and attempted assault, along with harassment, a violation, according to a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Donovan.

Details on the case's disposition were not immediately available yesterday.

In her decision, Odette N. Buschmann, the court attorney referee, determined the $30,000 award was "fair and reasonable compensation" for Minutillo's pain and suffering.

She found that some medical problems he alleged, including shoulder and herniated disc injuries, resulted from pre-existing conditions.

"We're happy that his litigation is over," said Charles J. Gayner, Minutillo's Manhattan-based lawyer. "[But] I wish it hadn't have come to my client having to jump through hoops, particularly when he was assaulted in the process of being a Good Samaritan."

Gayner said the proceedings were adjourned several times when Roman failed to appear.

Roman, who represented himself, did not attend the inquest to determine damages. Previously, in January, Justice Judith N. McMahon had issued a default judgment against Roman.

Attempts yesterday to obtain a telephone listing for Roman were unsuccessful.

Advance records show Minutillo was part of the crew aboard the ferryboat Alice Austen who, seven years ago, helped rescue a man who had leaped into the water. The vessel was preparing to dock at Whitehall Ferry Terminal around 5:25 a.m. on March 20, 2004, when South Beach resident Alberto Sanchez jumped.

The crew threw life jackets and a life ring into the water and Sanchez grabbed a jacket. An NYPD Harbor Patrol boat picked him up.